Get Back Up
by Kierza
Summary: The day has been saved thanks to the Starship Rangers, but now what? Join Taz, Up, and the rest of the Starship Rangers as they face the threat of Dr. Spaceclaw and the rest of the G.L.E.E.
1. Prologue

Wow, haven't done something like this in a while. This one is a bit shorter than what I originally wanted, but I really just wanted to introduce the problems here. So it's sort of a prologue, or intro I guess. A HUGE shout out to my editor for helping me with this pushing me to write it.

I OWN NOTHING. STARKID POTTER OWNS ALL. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN STARSHIP YET, GO TO YOUTUBE AND DO SO.

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><p>Reflecting back on the day, Taz believed it to be pretty productive. The Starship Rangers rediscovered a planet, fought off a few killer bugs, made new friends, found love, and gained lost confidence. Not only that, but with the help of Bug, they now had a peaceful alliance with the bug world. It might take some work to make the relationship stronger between them, but Taz had a feeling that it wouldn't be too long before the alliance became stable. Si, it had been a good day indeed. One thing they had gained within that day, though, disturbed her, and that was the news given to her by February and Bug. No one had time to think about it in the midst of the rising conflict and battle, but now that it all ended, Taz had time to let the news sink in. The whole of the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration was behind the mission that brought the Starship Rangers and colonists to this planet and were also the ones behind Junior's evil plan.<p>

"Well everybody," Up said to the rangers gathered on Starship 15A2, startling Taz out of her thoughts, "We have all had a long and eventful day. I order you all to go to your dormitories immediately and sleep in tonight. And if I catch any of you out before nine tomorrow morning, I'll have you clean every inch of this ship until it's as shiny as a child's eyes when it is given a large ice cream sundae with extra cherries." He looked around at everyone's faces with satisfaction before continuing on, "Our eyes deserve a good rest."

Taz watched as Specs, Krayonder, Tootsie Mega-Girl, Mega-Girl, February, and Bug, who had rejoined the Rangers as an ambassador to the Bug World, head off to his or her respective room. Each one of them looked like their eyes were made of lead, the way they seemed to slowly stumble to their rooms. Well, except Krayonder, who, even after almost getting killed, seemed to somehow keep his eyes open and on Specs. The sick burro. Up gave her one of his goofy grins before starting to head off as well.

"Espere," Taz called out to Up, "I need to talk to you."

"Oh, of course," Up stopped where he was at and turned to her, still giving her his ridiculous grin, "What is it that you need?"

"You remember earlier today? What February and Bug said bout de G.L.E.E?"

Up's grin turned into a scowl. "Yeah, those damned G.L.E.E, what the hell would they want with a bunch of bugs?"

"Dat was what I was wondering at first too," Taz replied, "But I think I got some of dis figured out. Obviously dis is a plan to gain more power, de League never really cared for anything besides that. But how much of de League is corrupt? We know Junior was one of de people behind it, meaning his father should probably be part of de plot as well. I know dat Mega-Girl dealt with Junior, so we can converse talk to her and see what she knows as well."

Up shook his head in wonder. "I always thought the G.L.E.E was no good, and now we got proof. Sorta. We can't really take February's word for everything, she's an idiot. But even then, what can we do about it?"

Taz shrugged, "De hell if I knew. I just thought I should tell you what I thought."

"I appreciate it Taz," Up nodded, "But let's both get some shut eye and we'll talk about it more in the morning, get Mega-Girl and the rest of the Rangers as well. With all of our heads together, we should be able to come up with some kind of plan."

Taz snorted at the thought of some of the other Rangers figuring out a plan. Rangers like February and Tootsie couldn't come up with a good plan if they were seconds away from being busted open like a piñata. But some of them, like Specs and possibly Krayonder, if he could get his mind out of the gutter and actually think for once, could contribute something to the plan. And, she hesitated in her train of thought, not wanting to admit it, but Mega-Girl might actually be able to help, besides helping gather information about Junior, she could also help figure out what to do next. Taz nodded, deciding that what Up said seemed like a fairly good idea. "Alright, good night Up."

"Good night Taz, pleasant dreams!"

Taz just nodded in response and walked off. Her room never felt much like home to her, seeing as how often she and Up traveled from one planet to another, and she didn't ever try to make it so. Her walls contained nothing but their gray coloring, and the furniture around her had been kept to a bare minimum. She only kept a bed, a desk which contained a lamp and clock, a small desk chair, and a bookshelf. Her bookshelf had to be the most fascinating thing in the room. Each shelf was crammed with as many books as she could possibly stuff in. No book looked the same. From fantasy to biographies, Taz had it all. And read them all too. She made a mental note to herself to get some new ones at the next planet, or whenever all of this mess came to a close.

She looked at the bookshelf for a while, debating on whether she should read or just go to bed. The idea of sleep won, barely, and she got herself dressed for bed. But when she laid down on her bed, she found that she couldn't go to sleep. Her mind was racing with so many different thoughts about the day. It had all started with a simple colonization mission and ended up being so much more. Who would have thought that it would end up as it did? Though she really couldn't complain. Not if all of this meant that Up finally would get past his accident. A wave of horrible guilt passed through her. She tried to shake it off, close her eyes and forget, but it just seemed to grow.

"It was not your fault," she muttered, "Nothing could have prevented dat." She felt nothing more than hatred for herself. "De hell with it," she spat, looking around her room with a hostile expression, "You could have done somethin, you were weak. You were weak and if you had just noticed the danger..." Her eyes began to sting, and in a desperate attempt to try and get rid of the anger and guilt, she turned around and grabbed the first book she found and sat on a chair. But the lines just seemed to blur together and she couldn't make sense of any of the words. She slammed it down on a desk and stormed out of her room, hoping that a walk would somehow make her feel better.

Each turn she made blindly, all of the walls seeming to confine her and keep her locked in. Every colonist she passed by seemed to look at her with condemning eyes. It was all twisted, and she tried to tell herself that this was all just her imagination, but her emotions and fear had already taken control. Her mind was in a whirl and she couldn't pay attention to anything that was going on around her. Because of this, she didn't see a person standing right in front of her and slammed into them.

"Taz, you alright?"

Taz glared, about to snap at the person in front of her, but her anger quickly drained away as she looked up at Up.

"Up? Of course I am. What are you doin out still?"

Up shrugged. "I just felt takin a little walk. What are you doing out?"

"I," Taz paused, trying to think of something to say, "I just felt like taking a walk as well.

"Hey Taz-" Up started.

"I'm fine!" she suddenly snapped, "Perfectly fine. I'm going to bed now." Without a second glance, she turned around and left.

"Damn it all," she growled, as she entered her room. "I can't keep doin dis. I'll go loco." With a sigh, she laid down on her bed and closed her eyes. "I need to be tough. To be tough is to survive." And with that mantra in her head, she fell asleep.


	2. The Meeting

The ways of women had always confused Up. He never really tried to understand them and their desire for clothes and pampering. He decided that the best way to deal with them was to leave them alone. Taz however, was a different story. She had never acted like other women he had grown up knowing. She was strong, determined, and tough. She didn't care for the idea of pretty clothes, though he had seen her pleased with some of the outfits he had sometimes given her, and would simply glare at anyone who tried to pamper her. It was different from what he was used to, but he liked it. The idea that a girl like Taz existed made him very happy. He remember when she first came to the Starship Ranger HQ. Even after her recent loss she still came in with confidence and strength. He couldn't believe it. Sure there were other girls who joined the Rangers, but none of them seemed as tough as this girl did. Hell, not even a lot of the guys he knew could come with as much determination and inner strength as she did. It intrigued him. He had kept an eye on her ever since and they soon became close friends.

So when he noticed that Taz wasn't herself, he got worried. That night she seemed wild, out of control. It was almost as if she didn't know what she was doing. He had never seen her that way before, and it troubled him. And so that night he made a decision. He would protect Taz. Not that he hadn't before, but now he would make sure he would never let anything get in the way of hurting her, be it man, monster, or even herself. She had seemed so vulnerable that night, even if it was just for a few seconds, but he never wanted to see her that way again. There was only one thing he could do to help her. It was time for him to get back up.

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><p>Morning came all too swiftly for Taz. She groaned as she sat up, feeling a headache begin to take form. It added to the growing list of problems she felt coming, starting with her behavior towards Up. Last night's actions were unacceptable. The overwhelming amount of stress and emotion brought it on. She was tough, and needed to remain tough for the rest of the crew, just like during the Robot Wars. Taz smiled inwardly at the thought of it. Those were the good old days with just her and Up battling an army of robots. She knew her enemy and knew how to destroy them. Of course, the Robot Wars didn't consist of just her fighting. She and Up had times when they just hung out and watched a movie or attempted to cook some kind of dinner, though that never worked out well and they would end up having to order something to eat. They were sure of each other's abilities and always had each other's back. They had never planned it; it just seemed worked that way. There was no questions asked; they just knew what to do and knew that, without a doubt, they would risk their life for one another. They never thought it would come to that though. It never occurred to either one of them that the other could get hurt. But now she knew more and would be even more determined to be alert, tough. She would make sure an accident like the one on Chronos would never happen again.<p>

With that thought in mind, Taz got up. Her clock read 7:00 AM but she ignored the time and changed into her normal army pants and white tank top. After making sure to put her headband on, she left the room. Nowadays Up tended to be more bark than bite, but even then, he knew that if Taz wanted to get up early and work out, then there was nothing that would stop her from doing so. He used to be like that as well; determined and stubborn. During the war, if he felt that an order needed to be changed, then he would change it, despite what his Admiral said. Not that his Admiral ever complained, seeing as Up's changes normally either saved lives or advanced their position in the war. Only once did his plan change not work as perfectly as planned, and Up paid a terrible price for it. After that, he never changed an order, not even his own, though Taz believed that it was because he had become more worried about how the people would feel if he ignored them and not so much about the consequences.

So when Taz entered the workout room and saw Up trying to lift weights, she felt completely shocked.

"Up?" she asked, ""What are you doin ere?"

Up jumped, not expecting anyone to come this early. Taz snorted at the notion, feeling like she had gone back to when they first met. He had told her before that he never knew someone who would work out as early as him or do something they didn't have to. Then Taz showed up. She could still remember the look on his face when she first started getting out early. It looked much like it did now. She gave a rare smile and walked towards Up, grabbing some weights.

"I just thought I should start practicing again. You know, just in case."

Taz grinned once more. Her hopes began to rise. For two years she watched as Up deteriorated into a shadow of what he once was, and she couldn't do anything to help him. But now, he was showing signs of recovering. He would never be completely what he once was, he had more, heart, as he called it. But to Taz, anything was an improvement and she would accept it with enthusiasm. And to think this was all thanks to Bug. Whatever he said to Up seemed to help. It made her respect Bug, though she also felt jealous. This bug, who they had only known for a day, could do what she had been trying to do for two years.

They both worked in silence for a while, just enjoying being together, before Up spoke. "Taz, are you alright?"

"Course I am," Taz said, but her body stiffened, her mind instantly jumping to last night. "Why would I not?"

"Well last night you seemed upset over something."

"No, I'm fine," Taz shook her head. "I just felt tired."

"You know," Up seemed to try and tread lightly on the subject, "You can always talk to me about anything."

"There's nothing wrong," Taz muttered.

Up sighed and left it at that, much to Taz's relief. Even if she and Up were close friends, she didn't feel the need to explain to him what was going on last night. Nothing of importance happened anyways. It was, just as she said, a rare moment when she let her tiredness get the best of her. It wouldn't happen again.

-0o0o0o0-

The meeting had begun well. Taz asked Bug and February to give the information they knew and asked how they obtained it. She then explained her theory. Everyone gave nods of agreement while Krayonder started exclaiming with a long and loud woah, which made Taz glare at him. She looked over at Mega-Girl, expecting her to say something, but instead, she just sat there, staring straight ahead with a blank expression.

"What do you think Mega-Girl?" she asked. "Do you know anything about dis?"

"Affirmative," Mega-Girl responded. Taz waited for her to explain, but she said nothing else.

"And what do you know?" Up pressed.

"I know much," Mega-Girl said, "Much more than you humans, but to list all that I know could take days."

"Tootsie," Taz growled, "you better try and get de information we're looking for out of her or I will destroy her."

"Mega-Girl," Tootsie began. Mega-Girl turned to face him. "What do you know about Junior's plan?"

"Much," she responded, "Though I can't say everything I know. There are programs that have been installed, keeping me from speaking of Junior's plans."

"You useless piece of scrapmetal," Taz grumbled. "Can we uninstall your programs?"

"Negatory. I can not explain where the programs are, so you could not know what to uninstall. Even if you knew, I doubt any of you humans have the ability to uninstall it."

"Can you tell us who installed these programs," Up asked hastily, sensing a fight coming, "Or tell us who is making the plans?"

Mega-Girl paused for a moment, and Taz could only assume Mega-Girl was searching through her systems. "Affirmative," Mega-Girl finally said. "A man by the name of Dr. Space-Claw installed the programs a year ago that keep me quiet, and-" She abruptly stopped, unable to continue on.

Krayonder made another exclamation while Specs and February started talking in loud obnoxious voices. Tootsie just had his mouth hung open and stared at Mega-Girl. There was no telling what the guy was thinking. Taz sighed, trying to ignore . Things seemed worse than what she had thought. Dr. Space-Claw, the most notorious villain around, had a crafty mind and had always alluded the Starship Rangers. Taz had thought that they had gotten rid of him a few years ago during the Robot Wars or, and Taz knew it probably couldn't happen, the robots had killed him. Obviously that hadn't happened. And if he really did work with the Galactic League then they really were in trouble. She looked up, watching Bug ask February about Dr. Space-Claw and February answered in the best way she could, which wasn't that well. Taz suddenly got an idea.

"Can we tell you what we think and you say if we're right or not?" she asked, turning her attention back to Mega-Girl.

"You may try," Mega-Girl replied, "but I cannot guarantee that I can help."

Taz growled, feeling her headache growing. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, trying to get rid of the growing feeling of annoyance. "Would it be correct in assuming that Dr. Space-Claw works with the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration?"

Mega-Girl opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Taz almost yelled in frustration, but then Mega-Girl actually started to speak.

"It would be correct to assume that a team is made up of more than one person or thing."

The crew stared at her, all looking dumbstruck.

"De hell?" Taz said, wondering if the robot lost it.

"Oh! Oh!" Tootsie yelled, "I got it! She's trying to give us the answer while working around her programs! That means yes! She's trying to tell us that Dr. Space-Claw is working with the Galactic League!"

"Keep it down," Taz snapped, her headache flaring. Well at least they could get some answers now, even she didn't like the ones she was given. Things could be worse. She took a breath and went on with the questions.

"What about de head of de League? Does he have anything to do with dis?"

Mega-Girl barely paused before answering, "The head of the League cares greatly about the needs of the people and would do nothing to harm them."

Taz felt relieved, but only for a moment. She watched as Mega-Girl tried to open her mouth and speak but nothing came out. Mega-Girl seemed a little confused.

"Wait," Taz asked apprehensively, "do you're programs keep you from sayin anything bad bout de head?"

"It is very much like Junior during the mission on the Bug World," Mega-Girl said. The other Rangers pondered, trying to figure out what she meant by that. Up, however, understood pretty quickly.

"That would be a yes to both of the questions then."

Taz growled with annoyance. She thought that it might be so, but she really wished she had guessed wrong. It made destroying the plotters a lot more difficult. And then even if they did get rid of them, and it seemed that the only way that could happen would be to kill them, she still had to worry about the public. They would not believe that the head was plotting against them unless they had evidence. But, she remembered with some optimism, they did have the tape from the crashed starship to help them. They'd have to go back down there and get it.

"Alright, escúchenme," she said, gaining everyone's attention. "Bug is going to take Up and me down to de crashed starship. Specs, go research everything you can on different robot programs and see if you can find anything on de one dat keeps Mega-Girl from revealing certain things to us. Everyone else can do whatever dey want, but make sure dat you don't tell anyone bout what we've learned. Others might be in on de plot and we don't need em figuring out what we know. Dat, and we don't need others to panic...yet. Do you all understand?"

Everyone nodded. They stood up and one by one, left the room. Taz waited until just Up and Bug were with her in the room before she started to make her way to the pod room. They all climbed into one of the smaller drop pods and set in the coordinates. Taz leaned back and tried to get some rest before they got down. It would take them about an hour to get there, if the computer's calculations were correct, and it would give Taz some time to make up for the lack of sleep from last night.

She opened her eyes and suddenly, she wasn't on the pod, but inside the remains of Metal Gear. Up was ahead of her, battling a large group of robots. She instinctively grabbed the gun that was at her side and began shooting at the incoming robots, each one falling to its doom. But even with all her experience, she still somehow fell for their trap and got distracted with the incoming robots, failing to see the others coming up behind and flanking her. She had nowhere to run and began to panic. She had to get to Up. With Up, she was safe. Suddenly, she heard Up calling out her name. She looked around and saw him running towards her. It all came back to her, and she remembered what was going to happen next. She tried to open her mouth and tell him to get away, but he wouldn't stop calling her name and running towards her. Without warning, she was jolted back and she was on the drop pod once more. She looked around with panicked eyes. Both Bug and Up were next to her, looking at her with concern. She tried to calm her breathing. It had just been a nightmare.

"Taz, are you alright?" Up asked. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," Taz snapped. "Lead the way Bug."

She stood up and headed out of the pod, infuriated. She had thought she had put all of that behind her, but obviously that wasn't true. And now both Up and Bug got to see her in one of her more vulnerable moments. Up hadn't seen her that way since before his accident, but he had always been the only one. Taz had prided herself on the fact that no one else had ever seen her upset or vulnerable. But now, Bug saw her that way as well, and no amount of respect for him was going to make her feel better about it.

They walked on in silence, with Bug taking the lead and Up walking beside Taz. He looked over at her a few times, but to Taz's relief, didn't say anything. They would talk, it was inevitable, but Taz didn't want it to happen now. Not while Bug was near or while she still felt shaken. She had experienced that nightmare for a week after the accident, while Up was still in a coma, but when he woke up, the dreams had stopped. Up needed her help, and she had to be as tough as she could. She didn't even remember having those dreams until today, and she didn't like the idea that they were back. All it could mean was trouble. But other trouble came before she could reflect on her dreams any longer, for as she looked ahead she could see the crashed spaceship; but just as the three came closer, an explosion went off and all Taz could see was a large piece of flaming metal come flying at her face.

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><p>CLIFFHANGER! XD Well, hoped you all liked this one. And I would really like to thank my editor, who took the time out of her day to come and find all of my really dumb mistakes. You are supermegafoxyawsomehot.<p> 


	3. Automatic Self Destruct

If Taz was upset, there was really only two things you could do about it. The most effective of the two was to just let her be until she decided to talk. Up had learned this a long time ago, and though it pained him to do so, he knew that he would have to do so in this case. Taz would always come to him with her problems, and he knew she would with this one as well, even if it might take a while. The pain he saw in her face though made him want to just pull her aside and not leave her until she told him what was wrong. It hurt him to see her the way she was now and not be able to help her.

He was musing upon this when they arrived at the crashed starship, but even deep within his musing, Up knew something was wrong. Instinct made him alert, and he was prepared even before the ship exploded. He was about to hit the ground when he noticed Taz's situation. He could see the metal flying at her, and knew that more was to come. Without thinking, he ran, not caring about what might happen to him. There was no question as to what needed to be done. Taz was in trouble and this was one thing that he could protect her from. Nothing else mattered to him.

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><p>Time stood still for Taz. The whole idea of a flaming object being flown towards her had never crossed her mind. She cursed at herself for, once again, not being attentive. She had been so wrapped up in what she was thinking, she couldn't see the obvious. It seemed to be the one thing she was never good at. She tried to twist her body to the side and get out of the way, but everything she did felt like it was in slow motion. She knew that she could not get out of the way in time. Resigning herself to this fact, she began to pull her hands in front of her in order to try and block the oncoming object when Up's hand came in front of her and grabbed the projectile, tossing it away. She then felt his other hand pushing on her shoulder, sending her falling to the ground. There was a great pressure on top of her and she could only assume that it was Up, shielding her from other oncoming debris.<p>

"You idiota!" she screamed. Everything sounded muffled, making it hard for her to tell if anymore metal was flying in the air. Her heart pounded and she felt fear. Fear, not for herself, but for Up. Not only did he just grab a burning metal object, but he was now open to any other object that might be hurtling over to them because of the explosion. Taz squirmed and tried to get out from under Up so that she could try and help him, but she was reminded on just how strong Up could be.

"You big fat idiota! You've got to move!" Taz continued to scream and struggle, even going as far as to curse in Spanish. She felt on the verge of tears. Dead God help her, she would not stand by and do nothing while Up sacrificed himself for her. Not again. She didn't know if she could take it again.

"Please Up," she begged, tears beginning to fall down her face, "please don't do dis to me again."

It seemed like ages before he finally stood up. She scrambled up and looked him over, trying to figure out how much damage he had taken. His right hand looked completely dysfunctional and the rest of the arm looked like it would need repairs. The front of his body looked fine, besides the few bruises and tears in his shirt that she had made in her struggle. It would have given her some pride to know that she had the strength to actually get a hit on the guy, but she could see some tears in his clothing, and before he could say or do anything, she roughly turned him around to check his back. The flying debris had turned the back part of his clothes into scraps, leaving tons of scratches on his skin. On his left side she could see a burn, and glancing to the side, she could see the piece of metal that had probably caused it. While it was bad, it could have been worse.

"Taz, are you alright?" Up asked as he turned around to face her.

"¿Qué dijiste? Am I alright?" Taz responded. Her voice shook as she stared at him in disbelief. "Am I alright? How can you ask such a thing? You're de idiota who grabbed de damn piece of metal and den decided to play hero and try and save me! You could have been killed! What would have happened then? Huh? How many times do you think I can go through dis?"

"Taz," Up's voice was calm as he looked at her and Taz swore she could see a smile beginning to form at the edges of his lips, "feels like the old days doesn't it?"

Taz, who had been ready to shout at him again, and maybe even give him a good slap, was struck dumb by his comment. This man was incredible. In the midst of such a situation, he was still able to make such a relaxed comment. And not only that, but somehow, that comment wiped away all of her anger and fear. She could almost laugh at the whole situation. Almost.

"Nonsense," she muttered. She tried to remain stern and angry, but was failing miserably, "I don't recall ever having to be saved from a flying piece of burning metal."

"Of course you did," Up replied, beginning to smirk. "Don't tell me you forgot about your first mission?"

"How could I forget it?" she asked, "But I clearly remember that you were overreacting to the whole situation and the metal was clearly at least two feet above my head."

"Two feet?" Up exclaimed, "That thing was going to hit you in the face had I not pushed you down."

"Umm, guys?" Both Up and Taz turned around to face Bug. He seemed completely fine, and while Taz was somewhat surprised, she knew that it was only natural. Bug was after all a bug, and bugs aways seemed to have a way with avoiding such forms of death. She felt guilty at first, having forgotten about him, but the fact that he seemed slightly amused by Taz and Up's conversation changed that. "I hate to interrupt, but I really think that we should probably figure out why the spaceship jus exploded."

Up nodded and looked towards the now completely ruined starship. "I would assume that someone doesn't want us to see those tapes."

"But how could dat happen?" Taz pondered. "De only people dat knew we were coming down here were de ones in de meeting. And unless Bug and February spoke about de spaceship and what it contained," she glanced over at Bug to see him shaking his head, "no one would even know dat de ship had important information. Even if someone else knew, dere wouldn't be enough time to-" she stopped and groaned, realizing what it could be. "Automatic Self-Destruct."

"But why would it be on ASD?" Up asked.

"What is ASD?" Bug looked at the two in confusion.

"ASD, or Automatic Self-Destruct," Taz sighed, "is a system that allows a ship to destroy itself if it ever got captured. It can be programmed to begin when something is triggered, such as it's memory logs, after a specific amount of time."

"But I've watched these videos loads of times," Bug said.

"But did you ever finish one?" Up questioned.

"Well," Bug said, "not really. I had only seen bits and pieces of videos. It was February who figured out how to watch one from beginning to end."

"And finishing a whole one would have done it," Up stated.

"Fantastic," Taz grumbled, glaring at the now exploded starship. "We could ave used dat information. Who de hell thought dat it would be a good idea to put de ASD on dat video?"

Up shrugged. "It couldn't have been any of the Rangers on that ship. They would have had to have set it for that video after it finished, and no one was alive to do so."

"Are you suggesting dat someone from our ship came down ere and did dat?" Taz asked.

"It is possible," Up said, "though I hate the idea of it. That would mean someone came down here, knew exactly where the spaceship was, and programmed the ASD."

"Could it have been Junior?" Bug asked.

Taz snorted, "Junior was too estúpido to figure something like dat out. A captain would be de lowest ranking dat could set de ASD. Dat, or someone dat was extremely smart. I'd guess dat Dr. Space-Claw hired someone to set it up in case one of us found out about dis."

"So we have to keep the idea that there is a traitor among the people of our Starship," Up sighed. "I wish it wasn't true."

"Don't we all," Taz replied. "Now we have to go try and figure out what everyone on de ship was doing while we were on our little rescue mission." She turned around and began to walk back towards the drop pod, not even caring if the other two followed. As far as she could tell, there was no reason to stay down on the planet. What they had set out for had been destroyed. Not only that, but she now had more problems than she had expected or wanted. She didn't want to have to worry about some traitor amongst the crew. Not right now. She had too many other problems that she had to work out.

When she got to the drop pod, she sat down and waited for the other two to follow. It didn't take them long. They had probably decided to search the rubble a bit, in hopes of finding some clues, but Taz knew from the beginning that nothing would be found. They were working against Dr. Space-Claw, and even though she hated him, she knew that the guy was smart. He knew how to hide what he didn't want found.

They all sat in silence, each one buried within their own thoughts. Taz, refused to try and fall back asleep, though her eyelids began to fall. Doing so would risk another nightmare. She just had to tell herself that she could sleep when they got to the ship. Once there, she wouldn't worry about anything but sleep.

"Now once we get to the ship," Up began, "we need to act like nothing happened down there. If someone on the ship is working for Dr. Space-Claw then we don't need them to think that we know something. I'll contact everyone separately on what I want them to do." The drop pod had landed on its base and everyone stood up. "Until then, we can all just do what we normally do."

Taz nodded and walked out of the pod, heading towards her room. Up however, seemed to have other plans for her and stopped her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Taz, we need to talk."

"Actually," Taz said, "you need to go to sick bay and have them check out your arm and back. I need to go to my room, take some medicine for my never ending headache, and get some sleep."

"There's no need for me to go to sick bay yet, I've been through worse," Up replied, "you know that. And I really think that we should talk. Before something else gets in the way."

Taz thought about it, debating on whether she could survive a few more minutes of speaking before she fell asleep.

"Fine," Taz muttered. She turned around and began walking the other way, towards Up's room. "But you better make it quick, because I don't know how long I'll be awake."

Up nodded and followed her. Once they got to his room, he took off his torn shirt and sat down, patting the spot next to him and indicating for her to sit next to him. She complied, leaning against his shoulder, as she would if they were watching a movie. It felt good just to relax. She realized just how much she missed doing this with him. Just being with him seemed to take away all of her stresses. She smiled and closed her eyes.

"So you wanted to talk to me about something?"

"You've seemed a bit out of it," Up replied, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I've just been worried. Do you want to tell me about what's going on?"

Despite the comfort Taz felt, she involuntarily stiffened. Part of her wanted to just pour her soul out to Up. After all, they had been through so much together, and if she couldn't tell him, who could she tell. But another part of her wanted to keep quiet, to keep him from knowing just how upset she had been about it all. It was wrong though, wrong to keep these things from him. She knew that, and even though she desperately wanted to keep it a secret, hide the fact that she was weak, she needed to tell him something.

"It's just a nightmare," Taz muttered, "Just another one of those damn nightmares."

"Same ones as before?" Up asked.

Taz shook her head. "No, different this time. Worse too."

"Talking about it before always helped you," Up said. "Do you want to talk about it now?"

"Not yet," Taz said. "Maybe if it comes back, but not yet."

Up paused, concern written all over his face, but to Taz's relief, he didn't push it any farther.

"I'm sorry about earlier today," he said, leaning his head on top of hers. "I had promised you before that I wouldn't try to scare you like that again, and I've seem to have done it twice in two days."

"You were always completely hopeless when it came to dat," Taz replied, a smile beginning to play on her lips. "I told you when you made dat promise dat you wouldn't be able to keep it."

"I know," Up said. He gently grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her to face him. "But I hate having to put you through that. What I hate more than that though, is the thought of losing you. I'll do whatever needs to be done to protect you, even if I need to break my promise. Because promise or not Taz, I'm going to do whatever it takes to keep you safe, you know that right?"

Taz smiled, leaning back against his shoulder again. "I know, I told you it was a stupid promise. I'd do the same for you. We're buddies, it's what we do." She closed her eyes then, ready to fall asleep. It didn't even cross her mind that she should go back to her room. Right now, she was quite comfortable with the idea of sleeping here, on his shoulder. "Now get a shirt on, it's distracting."

* * *

><p>Ta da! Sorry it took so long to get this one updated. I had a lot of stuff to do. Thanks so much to all the people who review, alert, or favorite! Every one of you make my day brighter. But yeah, my pillow is safe now, right?<p>

Oh, and I forgot to do this in the last chapter...but I don't own any of this.


	4. The Dress

It was moments like this that Up found to be truly special. Times when he could just sit there and hang out with Taz, even if she was asleep. They had always been close, but he felt that ever since his accident, Taz had tried to take on the role of protector more than friend. But, being with her now, he hoped that it wouldn't be like that any more. They were together again.

Taz began to mutter in her sleep and Up looked down at her fondly. He soon figured out that her muttering wasn't good and that she was having another nightmare. He gently shook her, hoping that she would wake up, but there was no such luck. He shook her harder and called out her name, but she continued to sleep, her mind lost in her dreams. All he could do was cradle her in his arms and hope that he could comfort her through her dreams. Her eyes opened and were filled with panic. He looked down at her, not knowing what to do. Back when she first had nightmares, he knew what they were about, now though, he was left in the dark.

* * *

><p>Taz looked into Up's eyes, relieved to see him still there. Her dream had seemed so real, and she was still recovering from it, but just knowing that Up was still there helped her keep some calm. She struggled to keep tears of relief from falling down her face as she hugged Up. She stiffened a little when she felt the cold metal on his back or of his arm as it wrapped around her, but stayed hugging him. For the first time, her need for comfort outweighed her feelings of guilt.<p>

"You know," Up said, "You don't have to worry about always being tough. Especially with me here. You aren't any less valuable to me if you aren't always tough."

Taz gave a slight nod and hugged Up tighter. He always seemed to know how to make her feel better, even if she had a hard time convincing herself that his words were true.

"I thought I told you to put on a shirt," Taz muttered into his shoulder.

She heard him chuckle and pull her away.

"Forgive me," he said, standing up and walking over to his closet.

"Never," Taz replied. She stretched a little and stood up, looking around the room. Up was like her and liked to keep his room simple. The only difference in their rooms, besides that his was a lot larger due to his higher status, was that while Taz had a bookshelf, he had a television and couch to watch movies with. It was comforting for Taz to look around the room and feel completely at home. But something felt wrong at this moment. Taz frowned, "Up, did you move your clock?"

"No, it should still be on the desk. Why?" He came out of the closet and looked towards the desk. There was no clock.

"That, is not normal," he mused, "I haven't gotten drunk recently have I?"

Taz shook her head. "I haven't been either. Has anyone been in your room recently?"

"Yeah, Bug came in here the other day, but I know that he didn't take it. I saw it just yesterday."

Taz walked over to the desk and looked for any sign of tampering. "Your papers have been messed with. What kind of idiot steals a clock?"

"Or puts it under the bed?" Taz turned around to see Up standing up next to the bed, the clock in his hand. "Found it."

Taz took the clock from his hand and examined it. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with it, but she didn't trust it.

"I'll take care of it," Taz said, "And don't worry, I'll buy you a new one. See you at breakfast." She walked out of the room and headed towards the hall. She went to the farthest garbage containment room she could find and threw it away. Then, after double checking to make sure that, if it turned out to be a bomb, the only thing exploding was the surrounding garbage, she left to get breakfast.

Taz sat at one of the farthest breakfast tables she could find, both enjoying and resenting her isolation. She had brought this on herself. Though she had never had trouble getting along with other Rangers, after the dumpster incedent of course, but once Up had gotten his injury, she began to seclude herself from others. Part of her acceptance in the G.L.E.E was because of her skills, and because of her part in Up's accident, she felt no desire to be with the others, ashamed even. Up had noticed that she became more reclusive, but when he asked about it, she just told him the others were idiotas and he left her alone after that.

"Oh my Dead God Taz, what are we going to do with you?"

Taz, startled, looked to see February and Bug pulling out chairs and settling themselves at the table.

"Excuse me?" she asked.

"Your hair," February exclaimed, as if the answer was obvious. "I mean, look at it! It might have looked nice in...actually, I don't know when it would ever have looked nice. Something about it just needs to be done!"

"It's not like I'm trying to win any beauty pageants," Taz said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, maybe not," February sighed, "but you could at least make some effort for the party."

"De what?"

"The party!" February looked over at Bug, looking to see if he found Taz's question as ridiculous as she did. Bug just shrugged his shoulders in response. "My dear Taz, how could you not know about it?"

"Know about what man?"

Taz stared incredulously as Krayonder and Specs came to join them at the table.

"The party," Bug responded. "Taz doesn't know about it."

"Woah man!" Krayonder flew his hands into the air, leaving Specs to try and clean a now knocked over glass of milk. "Dude, how could you not know about that? It's all I've heard about since we saved Bug World!"

"It would appear that she is part of the one percent of people on this ship with no, what do you humans call it, oh yes, a life."

"You're here as well?" Taz felt completely dumbfounded. "De hell, I thought you didn't eat."

Mega-Girl looked at Taz with disapproval. "I came here because my husband, Tootsie Mega-Girl, wanted to come here, and I felt the need to keep an eye on him. He tends to get lost."

"And just where is he?" Taz sighed, looking to see if there were enough chairs for everyone. "Or did you forget to bring him over here?"

"Negatory," Mega-Girl said, speaking as if she was trying to explain things to a child. "I decided that since all humans are not used to robots being in the same place with them that doesn't involve killing, I would slowly get them used to me and not stand in a line with a bunch of you puny humans, but come over here in this corner with humans that Tootsie Mega-Girl knows."

"Can someone tell me about dis party now?" Taz asked, deciding not to worry about what Mega-Girl said until later.

"Okay, so there's this, like, party that the ship is going to put on in celebration of what we did down on Bug World, but don't worry," February glanced around and whispered to Taz dramatically, "they don't know about Junior teaming up with Dr. Space-Claw. But this means we get to wear dresses! Taz, please tell me you have a dress."

"Taz has absolutely no dresses," Up said, joining the group. "No matter how many times I have tried to get her one, she would start swearing in Spanish. Awful sight really."

"Did jou know about de party?" Taz asked Up.

"Heard about it on the way over here," he replied.

"Well there's nothing for it then," February said, standing up, "We're going to have to go shopping for one."

"February, who even said I was going to dis party?"

"Are we talking about a party?" Tootsie had finally joined the group, and Taz, while hoping he was the last to join, somehow felt really good about the group being here.

"Yes," Mega-Girl smiled upon seeing her husband come, "They were talking about the party that the crew is throwing for us."

"But why would someone want to throw that?"

Everyone stared at Tootsie Mega-Girl. Taz wondered how this guy even qualified for being a Starship Ranger. She knew that with the Robot Wars having just ended, the Galactic League was low on Rangers, but it couldn't have been so bad that they would recruit people like Tootsie, right?

"Anyways, as I was saying," February said, deciding not to explain things to Tootsie, "you have to come Taz, the party is in our honor. And you have to wear a dress! I'm sure even you've worn a dress at one point."

While this was true, Taz would never admit it to February. Nor did she like thinking on the last time she wore a dress. Bad things happened and she rather not remember them.

"I am not wearing a dress," Taz grumbled.

"Oh yes you are!" February said, "And I'm sure Up will vouch for me. Won't you Up?"

Up, who had been watching the whole thing with slight amusement, gave a small nod. "i'm afraid I'm going to have to agree with her on this Taz."

Taz stared at Up, in shock. "De hell! ¿En qué piensas? ¡Odio vestidos y yo me niego a llevarlos! ¡Usted acaba de tratar de hacer que me tu hijo de puta!" She pulled out her knife threateningly. "¿Ves este cuchillo? Este cuchillo se añaden las cicatrices en tu cara y me aseguraré de que es doloroso. Te vas a arrepentir jamás pensar que yo debería usar un vestido. Usted tendrá pesadillas por la noche de mí poco a poco que rasga la cara de distancia."

"See what I mean about the Spanish?" Up smirked.

"Umm..what did she say?" Bug asked.

"Oh, nothing important," Up said. "Taz, may I speak to you for a minute?

Taz opened her mouth to start cursing at him in Spanish again, but Up quickly cut her off. "Just needed to relay some information I just found out."

She grumbled, but nodded, standing up and following him into the hall outside the cafeteria. "Dis better be good."

"I know you hate dresses," he said, looking around to make sure no one was walking by, "but I think in this case you really do need to wear one. I've been thinking about the explosion on Bug World and about the rummaging in my room. I've said it before, but I think that there is someone on this ship that is with Dr. Space-Claw. Everyone is coming to this party, and if we go, we can keep an eye on the people and see if anyone looks suspicious."

"Fine," she glared at him. "But I want jou to know that I am not happy about dis."

Up smiled, "I'll keep that in mind. Now why don't you tell February the grand news."

"La maldita perra mejor ser feliz," Taz grumbled. She stomped over to the table everyone was sitting in and glared at them all.

"I've changed my mind, I'm going to de party."

"And you'll wear a dress?" February asked hopefully.

"Sí." February looked confused, trying to figure out if Taz's answer was a yes or a no. Taz sighed. "Yes, I'm going to wear a dress."

February squealed in delight. "This is great! I can take you and Specs shopping now!"

"Wait, when did I get dragged into this?" Specs asked.

"You're going to the party aren't you?" February questioned.

"Well yes," Specs pushed her glasses up higher on her nose, "but I thought that I would just wear one the dresses I have in my closet."

"But that's no fun!" February pouted. "It'll be like, a girl's night out!"

Specs gave a smile. "Well I guess that would be fun to do."

"What about Mega-Girl?" Tootsie asked.

"It won't be necessary," Mega-Girl replied. "Since I am a robot, it is not required for me to get any type of outfit."

"Perra suerte." Taz glared at Mega-Girl. Up coughed, and Taz looked over at him, trying to figure out if he actually knew what she was saying.

"Then it's decided!" February declared. "We girls shall meet up at the ship's mall at three o' clock sharp and shop for dresses!"

"I didn't even know dis ship had a mall," Taz grumbled.

Up smirked, "Well then you should probably get familiar with the ship. You'd be surprised by what this ship has."

Taz groaned, and quickly finished her breakfast, trying to prepare herself for that afternoon's nightmarish trip.

-0o0o0o0-

The time for shopping came faster than Taz wanted it to. She studied a map of the ship, and Up was right, she was completely surprised by what the ship had. After deciding that she didn't need to do anything important until meeting up with February and Specs, she went to explore the ship.

"We have a bar," Taz said. "Why did I never assume we had a bar?"

She walked into the room. It was dimmer than the rest of the ship and had a faint red glow to it. There were people playing cards at some tables while others were playing some jazz on a stage. There weren't too many people around, but it still felt comfortable.

Taz sat down at one of the empty tables, enjoying the feel of the environment. Bars used to be her favorite place to hang out, not just for the drinks, but for the people. In places like this you could get so many people from different backgrounds, some shady and some not. Sometimes, there were people who would never be caught dead together singing side by side on the karaoke stage.

"May I sit here, por favor?"

Taz tore her eyes away from the crowd to look at the man next to her. He was just a little taller than her and had a slightly muscular build. The man looked familiar to her, but Taz couldn't quite place him.

"Do I know you?" She asked.

"You could get to know me," he smiled until he realized that Taz was not amused. "That was a joke."

"I'm sure it was," Taz glared at the man, and he somehow saw that as an invitation to sit next to her.

"I'm Enrique," he held out his hand in greeting, but Taz refused to take it. The name seemed recognizable to her, but that did not mean she had to shake his hand. "Do I not at least get the pleasure of knowing your name?"

She looked at him for a minuted before nodding, "Taz."

Enrique coughed and looked at her again in surprise. "Taz? I knew you looked familiar. Dios Muerto, I thought I would never see you again!"

"Once again, I'm going to have to ask if I know you," Taz said, slightly irritated that she couldn't remember who this person was.

"Well, I guess it's only natural that you don't remember me, I mean, we haven't seen each other in years. It was your fifteenth birthday actually." He looked at her with a wide smile, "Taz, I'm your cousin."

Taz looked over the guy, trying to fit in the pieces. Her quinceañera wasn't something she tried to remember too much and the people there less so. As she looked at him, her memory of that day grew.

"You were one of my chambelanes," Taz said. "You grew a beard."

Enrique leaned towards her, smirking. "Do you think it makes me look muy guapo?"

"It does well in hiding your ugly mug," she scoffed. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have places I need to be."

"Well, hey," he grabbed her arm, ignoring the hateful glare, "no one has heard from you since you left. We should catch up."

"I make it a habit not to talk to family," Taz muttered. "Now if you knew what was good for you, you would leave me be." She forced her arm out of his grip and walked away. There went her idea of hanging out at the bar more often. It wasn't that she hated Enrique himself, he had always been one of the least involved with family matters. She remembered how she felt when he had sent her his letter saying that he would be on of her chambelanes for her quinceañera. It was a shock, though not an unpleasant one. He was five years older than her, making him the oldest and most mature of her cousins. If she had to dance with any of them, he was going to be the one she chose. No, she didn't want to stay away from him because she hated him, but for the fact that she had promised herself that she would keep as little contact with her family as possible, and as nice as he had been to her before, he still counted as family.

Having lost her desire to explore, Taz decided to wait on the others at the ship's shopping center. She had expected a crowd, seeing as how a lot of the female Rangers enjoyed shopping, but she never expected one as big as the one she saw today. Every time she tried to move one direction a person would be shoving her in another. Even a bench to sit at was hard to find.

"¿Qué pasa?" Taz said as she stumbled over to a magically empty bench. "I am never going to a mall again. Not with these types of crowds."

"Oh come on Taz, it's just because of the party." February came up to her, navigating through the crowds as if she did it everyday, something Taz didn't doubt was true.

"Let's just get this over with," Taz said. She stood up and tried as hard as she could to not get swept away in the crowd. February noticed Taz's trouble and grabbed her hand. Taz stiffened from the unexpected contact, but didn't pull away, not trusting herself to not get lost.

"Alright, Specs said she would meet us Spacy's, so we'll go there first. We can then go to any place you think of."

Taz just nodded, knowing that she wouldn't be able to come up with any place. She may have heard about a few stores when, on the rare occasion, she needed to go out and buy more clothes, but didn't know the first thing about places to for dress shopping. In fact, she didn't know anything about dress shopping at all. The last dress she had worn had been picked out for her, and it had been bought at a thrift store, making February's belief that Taz knew anything about dress shopping completely insane. Taz believed that the best thing to do in this situation was to just pick the first simple dress she could find at Spacey's and then try and deal with the other two as they decided over their dresses.

Just as she pushed those thoughts away, February came to a sudden halt, causing Taz to almost run into her. "Here we are! Spacey's!"

The first thing that ran through Taz's mind was how she had never seen so many pieces of clothing in one place before. She then thought of how she would have to go through them all to find the dresses, and by the look on February's face, there could possibly be many side trips on the way to the dress section.

"Where in here are we meeting Specs?" Taz asked. She desperately hoped that it would be at the entrance, and that she would know how to keep February focused on the task at hand. If February acted anything like Taz's mother, than she was a force to be reckoned with.

"At the dress section," February said distractedly, staring at everything around here. "I haven't been here since the day we left for Bug World."

"Wonderful." Taz began stomping her way into the mall, hoping that February would follow and not get sidetracked.

"Taz dear," Taz felt hands on her shoulders and was pushed into the opposite direction in the mall, "this is the way to the dresses."

Taz refused to comment on this and just continued to walk the given path, with February occasionally grabbing her and turning her into the right direction. It got past the point of humiliation and when they finally reached their destination, Taz harbored a deeper hatred for shopping than she ever had before. Specs stood at the front of the section, with an array of dresses serving as her backdrop. Taz looked over at it with a sense of impending doom. How could February believe that they would need to go to a different store?

"Alright then," February said, and Taz could swear that the girl's eyes were literally sparkling, "let's get to work girls. Each of us choose five dresses at first to try on and then we'll then try them on and decide if we like them."

A shudder ran through Taz's spine as she walked through the rows of dresses. This had to be some kind of cruel, twisted joke someone was trying to play on her. Every dress stood out to her as obnoxious and frilly. What happened to the simple dresses? What was wrong with those?

Questions like those continued to bombard Taz's mind when she stumbled upon a shocking sight. There, right between a really short and scandulous red dress and the frilliest white dress Taz had ever seen, she saw her quinceañera dress.

Well, it wasn't exactly her quinceañera dress, but Taz saw a resemblance. The top was very simple, white with an outlining of black, and just a single strap on the right shoulder. The bottom of the dress had a way of frilling out that reminded Taz of a rose, but it had a simplicity to it, making it just tolerable enough for Taz. While her quinceañera dress had no designs on it, this one had a few simple flower and vine designs across the top, making it a little more elegant than her old dress.

Taz grabbed the dress, staring at it for a few more moments before deciding that this would be the dress she would wear. When she showed it to February, the girl seemed thrilled, not just by the dress itself, but because Taz actually seemed interested in the dress. When Taz tried the dress on, she was pleased to see that it fit, even though February insisted that if it didn't fit they could find someone to alter it. The dress itself was expensive enough; Taz didn't want to spend any more money than she had to for this party and altering a dress would just add to her expenses.

The rest of the shopping experience went by faster than Taz expected. While February and Specs looked through and debated on different dresses, Taz sat there wondering why she bought a dress that reminded her of her past. Her fifteenth birthday was the starting point of her new life. It was what shaped her into becoming a Starship Ranger, and it was the day she met Up. Taz suddenly wondered if Up would remember the dress, and what he would think if he recognized it. It made her both nervous and excited, a strange combination, and Taz couldn't help but wonder why she felt like that. It was just a dumb dress.

At dinner, everyone sat together again. February was gushing about the shopping and even Specs seemed to enjoy the conversation.

"Wait," Taz said, "when exactly is this party? No one told me."

February rolled her eyes at Taz's ignorance, "Tomorrow night. Taz, really, how could you not know this?"

Taz just shook her head, and continued to eat. Tomorrow was going to be a pain.

* * *

><p>This...took forever. I am so sorry. But, to make up for it, an extra long chapter! I wrote the beginning of this chapter six different times and Enrique was begging to come in this chapter, instead of a later one like I had wanted. Thanks to Plot Bunnies for helping me get out of that rut I had at the beginning of this chapter and pulling me through this. She's the reason I got this done as quickly as I did. That, and the thought that my pillow still might get eaten. I now have a stack of pillows at my bedside. Thanks to all that review, favorite, and alert! I can never say enough about how you all make my day.<p>

And I own nothing. Except Enrique, though sometimes I wonder...


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